The Road Less Traveled

Saturday, May 14, 2016

This morning after breakfast we said goodbye to our home away from home in Siena.  There were many things I enjoyed about staying there.  My only complaint was that the wall between our room and the room next door was paper thin, and we could hear our neighbors talking until very late at night.  Although we were in a separate building, our room was close to the reception/dining/bar area.  There were people talking outside late with no regard to the fact that others might be trying to sleep.  I would definitely ask for a room in another location if I went back.  The owner, Gaia, was charming and full of personality.

Our drive from Siena to our Agriturismo outside Pontessieve took us through the breathtaking Chianti countryside.  Our first stop was Radda in Chianti.  What took me by surprise was that on the way to Radda, even though we were on an official government road, at least 10 miles wasn't paved.  It was gravel and/or dirt, and full of big potholes.  

Dirt road, minus the potholes

We arrived in Radda, only to discover that tomorrow there is a big bike race between there and Greve in Chianti.  Another one of our stops.  In other words, our drive was the same route as the bike race.  It's a good thing that we were making the drive today instead of tomorrow.  Radda was a cute town.  We walked around for awhile, then drove to the next town on our list, Castillina in Chianti.  There were many bike riders on the road.  Maybe practicing for tomorrow?  Anyway, we were behind bikes the entire way.  That was better than the pothole filled dirt road.  We checked out Castillina, then drove to Greve in Chianti.  It seemed to be the largest of the 3 towns.  There were a lot more activities with regards to the bike race, including a track set up for kids to ride.  In all the towns there were signs, pink balloons and other decorative items celebrating the race.  It must bring a lot of money in to their communities.

All the towns were in the spirit of the race.

After some ridiculous instructions from Google maps, we finally found our way to Agriturismo Fattoria Lavacchio.  It is beautiful here, but not exactly what I had expected.  I knew there were separate buildings, but I guess I pictured them closer together.  The property is on 270 acres.  It includes the Agriturismo, a winery and a restaurant.  Olive groves cover 108 acres, 52 acres are vineyards, 14 acres are wheat fields and 22 acres are wooded.  Everything is organic. The main house, Casabella, has the office, rooms, plus that is where they serve breakfast.  The pool is next to Casabella.  We are in Casanova.  Our room is really nice.  It's plenty big and it has a modern bathroom.  It's an old building with wood beams and an old tile floor that is very uneven.  We are upstairs.  So far there is no sign of neighbors.  It's very quiet out here in the country.

We had dinner at the restaurant here, Mulino a Vento, named after the windmill across the street.  It is a working windmill, and the wheat grown on the property is ground there.  Dinner was good.  We both had Potato Stuffed Tortelli with Chianina Beef Sauce.  The Tortelli looked like ravioli.  We had ravioli earlier in the trip, and they looked like tortellini.

We are going into Florence tomorrow.  Time to get some sleep.